Tag Archives: LTE

If you own a smartphone but live in an American city that's not all that populous, it can get a little frustrating.

Even if you've got the latest in LTE-capable devices, like the iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S III, your carrier may not even have an LTE network that covers your area yet. But patience pays off, as Sprint subscribers in over 11 small and medium-sized U.S> cities and counties are about to find out.

The carrier announced yesterday that it's expanding its 4G LTE service in a few new U.S. cities, listed below:

As 9 to 5 Mac notes, "the term 'cities' is a little stretched in this instance as each population is either near or well below the 50,000 mark," but we actually see that as a positive. Just because a smartphone owner doesn't live in a metropolis doesn't mean they're not interested in LTE.

And the fact that Sprint carries LTE-capable phones from the likes of Samsung, LG and HTC won't mean much to a possible subscriber whose area doesn't get LTE service.

In fact, writes 9 to 5 Mac, "Sprint offers the iPhone but does not carry the 4G LTE iPad partly due to its thin LTE spread, although it has steadily tried to thicken 4G LTE data coverage in recent months."

But the carrier has been trying to address that. Aside from the 11 newly added cities, Sprint expanded their LTE network this past fall to 100 U.S. cities. Meanwhile, as they continue to brng LTE to new markets, Sprint promises "3G customers in these areas, [...] can expect to see better coverage, improved network reliability and voice quality once the improvements come to their areas."

Unveiled at an event in New York yesterday, HTC/Verizon's Droid DNA has already been getting rave reviews. Photo courtesy of CBS.

Recently, the Pure Mobile blog reported on an upcoming HTC/Verizon event slated for November 13 in New York city. When the invitations started rolling out, most (including us) assumed only one thing – HTC's latest smartphone, the Verizon-bound Droid DNA, would be making its first official appearance. Well, we all assumed correctly.

The event may only have wrapped up yesterday, but reviews are already in, and they're looking good. No, they're looking great, as major Tech sites start loading praise on the black and red device that may just reverse HTC's less than stellar fortunes of late.

"I may have (finally!) found my new Android Smartphone," wrote one BGR writer, while an article from Gizmodo described the new device as simultaneously "nuts" and "sick."

The Droid DNA is HTC's first flagship phone for Verizon in quite a while, but the company seems to have made up for lost time by putting out what Gizmodo calls "the most impressively spec-filled smartphone the world has yet known."

at 440PPI, the Droid DNA's 5" display beats out the competition

Speaking of specs, where do we start?

TechCrunch has called out the new smartphone's screen as its "biggest claim to fame." The 5" Gorilla Glass display is unique to the Droid DNA in North America – only the Japanese HTC Butterfly J has one like it. And with a resolution of 440 pixels-per-inch, the 1080p Super LCD3 screen certainly outpaces competitors like the iPhone 5.

Ok, so what's under the hood? The Droid DNA boasts 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a quad-core, 1.5Ghz Snapdragon Qualcomm processor, with 4G LTE sharing the same chip as the application processor. "Having one chip instead of two improves battery life," writes CNET.

But if your battery does run out of juice, the Droid DNA has wireless charging capabilities, though as TechCrunch notes, there aren't many details yet about accessories for that.

Powered by Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, the device is NFC- and LTE- capable, and comes with Beats Audio. And its 2.1 megapixel front-facing and 8 megapixel rear-facing cameras are up to standard as compared with other recent devices.

So, how much will HTC's best smartphone to date run you, and when will you eb able to get your paws on its super-sized screen? The Droid DNA is already available for pre-order, but it'll be heading to Verizon for November 21 at a price of $200 with a 2-year contract.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, men and technology go together hand and hand or perhaps like a hand in heel much like women and shopping go together. Men most commonly use their Smartphones or other technological devices for audio and video playback, as personal organization applications, Internet access, and global positioning systems also known by its more popular reference GPS. According to a recent Smartphone Survey, more than 50.9% of women have adopted smartphones, with just a slightly lower 50.1% of men who've adopted smartphones. Here's a list of some of the most popular Smartphones that every woman should consider purchasing that man in her life whether its a husband, boyfriend, fiancee, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, nephew or even just a friend:

1) For that tech savvy man in your life you should consider the HTC EVO 4G LTE Smartphone because of its immense popularity and it technologically advanced features such as an Android 4.0 Operating System, 4.7-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and 4G LTE connectivity. The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a literal out of this world technological marvel that also features Beats Audio, a quality sound system that is a perfect combination of hardware and software to mix the perfect and finally at $199.99 it also has a technological marvelous price to match.

2) For that music loving man in your life you should consider the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman Smartphone (yes that's the real name) is readily equipped with everything that music loving man of yours could want. Some of those intriguing musical features include the ability to run on the Gingerbread Android Operating System and 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor. It also features a a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touch display, 480x320p screen resolution, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP secondary camera, 512MB RAM, and a 2GB memory card. The battery life of this Sony Walkman inspired Smartphone is a capability of f 14 hours on 2G network and 6 hours on 3G and the Live Connection is supported on a 3G Network by a Wi-Fi with DLNA support, GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity enabled.

3) For the Corporate/Businessman in your life the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the perfect briefcase accessory that every man should have in hand or in his pocket. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 comes fully equipped with h the legendary BlackBerry Messenger, QWERTY keypad, multi touch input, optical trackpad, TFT capacitive screen, megapixel camera, 4 GB internal memory, WiFi and of course also includes its 3G capabilities. The BlackBerry Torch also features ample 8G that is example to 32GB of memory, the convenient connectivity capabilities allow you to connect with with HSPA+ high speeds and WI-Fi. The BlackBerry 7.0 Operating System is nothing short of amazing with its liquid animation graphics that include instant response times and stunning graphics, it also supports HTML5 video and a voice activated universal search engine.

4) For the man in your life who's “young at heart” the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has the looks, the design and the raging trends in sync with your man's youthful zest for life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S features a 4.2 inch capacitive touch screen with LED backlight along with a an 8 megapixel camera capable of recording and capturing every youthful moment of the day and even well into the night. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S also features 720p HD Videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System, a turbo lightening fast turbo fast 1.4 GHz processor and more than 25,000 Google Play applications most of which are free to use and download. With this youthful Smartphone also comes a youthful price tag for roughly $350.00.

5) For the social man in your life who loves his friending everyone he meets on Facebook and tweeting on Twitter about the fun in his life the Chat 3G is the perfect Smartphone Companion for this man. The Inq Chat 3G is just as it a sounds a very unique and intersting Smartphone that features blazing 3G speeds and even syncs your iTunes and Windows Media music, video and photos straight from your computer. With the Inq Chat 3G Smartphone you'll be sure to never miss a text message, you'll be able to connect on the go and of course Facebook is at the touch of your fingertips.

6) For the video gamer in your life who loves the thrill of the motorcycle chase, the capture of the alien foe or simple just a quiet countryside drive the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is meant for that very gamer in your life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play features 4-inch LED backlit screen, multi touch input, Wi-Fi, 3G, 5 megapixel camera capable of recording 720p videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is also the first and only known PlayStation Certified Android Smartphone but the downside it does come with a $369.99 price tag.

7) For the versatile man in your life the iPhone 4S is the most versatile Smartphone for the your perfectly versatile man. The iPhone 4S features a 3.5 inches LED backlit capacitive touchscreen, IPS TFT , a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and a front camera for capturing versatile images. The iPhone 4S also includes a Siri, you can ask her to make calls, send text, get directions or even tell a joke. The iPhone 4S features the A5 one of the fastest dual core processors that any Smartphone currently in process, 8MP iSight camera and optics and a versatile price tag of $199.99.

8) For the multitasking man in your life the Nokia E7 is a Smartphone that stands alone that is perfect for work and play. The Nokia E7 features ts full SLIDER QWERTY keyboard perfect for sending a quick email, typing short papers, instant messaging, social networking browsing the internet, the high definition 8 megapixel camera is perfect for taking crisp, clean photos and videos with its 720p HD quality and the Nokia E7 boasts an impressive nine hours of battery life. The Nokia E7 also includes a a 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, 256 MB of RAM, 16GB of personal storage space, an AMOLED touchscreen, and a 1200 mAh battery.

9) For the family man in your life the ZTE Fury is a perfect match for that endearing and enduring family man who loves your and your children. The ZTE Fury features a 3.5 inches capacitive touch screen with 480 x 320 pixels resolution that utilized SnapDragon Qualcomm MSM8865 single-core 1.5 GHz, operates with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, and it also includes a 4 GB plus slot MicroSD internal memory that can be upgrade to 32 GBs with 512 MBs RAM. This Smartphone also enables you to subscribe to Sprint Mobile Control for USD 4.99/per channel/per month to to lock their children’ mobile phone or schedule and to monitor their children's downloaded applications.

10) Finally for the sports fanatic man in your life the Galaxy Nexus is the perfect Smartphones that enables your sports fan to view his football, baseball and even football on a high quality Android 4.1 Galaxy Nexus touchscreen. The Galaxy Nexus also features a 4.65-inch 720 Super AMOLED HD display, 16GB or 32GB of on-board storage, 1GB of RAM, and NFC technology. It's 3G Network is easily accessible from anywhere in the world whether your on the go or in the comfort of your own home. The Galaxy Nexus is the first device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is the first pentaband device that utilizes the HSPA+ GSM networks.

The Samsung Galaxy S III has been the center of attention in the mobile phone blogosphere the past couple weeks. Leaks and rumors have been dropping left and right. We comment on the more recent rumors surrounding everything related to the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Quad-core processor: The Korea Times reports the Galaxy S III will feature a quad-core processor.

An anonymous Samsung executive has revealed a bit of news about the upcoming Galaxy S III’s Exynos chip. It comes as no surprise that the Korean manufacturer is using its own chipset for the flagship device. It has for past iterations, and this is what we were expecting. LTE fans that demand Exynos will be happy to see a reaffirmation from Samsung that it is gaining LTE-capabilities.

This is a major issue, especially within the US market place... wherein consumers, have grown fond of the Exynos processors’ performance. However, in the breadth, Samsung has indicated the need to use Qualcomm processors in order for their devices to be optimized for the LTE networks.

The final whisper seem to allude that the new chipset is said to be a 32 nm silicon A9 quad-core processor, meaning that rumors of it being the Exynos 4412 are probably correct.

Our Take: The way we see it, Samsung has two choices for the Galaxy S III. They either go with the Exynos 4412 (quad-core Cortex-A9) or the Exynos 5250 (dual-core Cortex-A15). Most people thought the new iPad would be quad-core CPU and they were wrong, and I think Samsung's final CPU choice could also surprise people.

Integrated LTE: The Korea Times and other blogs report the Galaxy S III will feature a processor with an integrated LTE modem.

Our Take: Samsung does not integrate modems with their system-on-a-chip (SoC) like Qualcomm does. We have no doubt the Galaxy S III will be LTE-capable and use a Samsung LTE modem - just like the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, but it will not be integrated into the SoC. Maybe the Exynos 6 series will have integrated LTE, but you will not find it on Exynos 4 chips or Exynos 5250.

Probability: We view this as a high improbability as such we award a less that 2% possibility

June release: Numerous blogs are speculating the Galaxy S III will launch in June.

Our Take: Previous reports said the Galaxy S III would launch in April, then May, and now the latest guess is June. Samsung previously said the successor to the Galaxy S II would be unveiled at “separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.” While we have no idea when the Samsung Galaxy S III will be releases , we are pretty confident to see the launch in June 2012

Probability: We have been hearing the same rumors - we rate this as 90% truth factor

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Wireless charging from 1-2 meters away: Korean site Daily reports the Galaxy S III will feature wireless charging that works with a dock from 1-2 meters away.

Our Take: Several current phones already feature wireless charging, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see as part of the Galaxy S III feature list. I find it really hard to believe it would work from 1-2 meters (3-6ft!) away though. The current inductive charging standard Qi only works when the charging receptacle is almost touching the device.

Qualcomm was working on a propriety technology called WiPowerthat increased the distance between the transmitter and receiver coils by a couple of inches, but the charge had to be transferred though another material like plastic or wood. They previewed this technology at CES 2011, but it never came to market. I heard reports from the Qi group that there were concerns of electro-magnetic radiation when the transmitter and receiver coils are not close together.

I’d be surprised if Samsung solved this radiation problem when Qualcomm couldn’t, and I still have my doubts of this remote charging feature. It would be awesome if they discovered a safe way to do this, but I don’t see it happening this soon.

Probability: We award this slim 10% possibility

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With the Mobile World Congress on the horizon, the top smartphone vendors (Apple, Blackberry, HTC, LG Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony) are ramping up products that were introduced and released earlier this year and fine tuning the messaging for the upcoming event that will give them the opportunity to leverage the publicity, innovative mobile accessory launches that accompany these global gatherings. So, Samsung is in a great position to capitalize on the momentum on the world stage for its latest international device, the SamsungGalaxy Note.

As with other Samsung offerings, this unlocked cell phone has gone through a series of transformations before reaching the shores of North America and will align with its American siblings in certain areas. With four touch sensitive buttons under the screen and a Snapdragon S3 chipset under the hood, the 1.5 GHz dual-core Scorpion processor is a differentiator from the Exynos silicon found in the global version of the handset.

And, with the added LTE connectivity, S Pen (stylus and pen), and large 5.3” Super AMOLED screen, this device looks to create its own niche and make its own waves in the mobile device industry. There is a slew of features that make this smartabletphone a good fit for some customers including a microSD slot (a nice consideration for a device that is likely to eat up a lot of storage), video recording in 1080p that has USB host and TV-out support, and full Flash support which is definitely sought out in media playing devices. The specs are long and worth checking out, but I would venture to say that the peripheral devices and accessories that will come along with this device will also be key.

The size of the handset will make headsets and Bluetooth devices all the more imperative for those customers using the Galaxy Note as one-handed use is bound to be tricky. Purchase of a protective accessory that precludes the need to fit this smartabletphone in your pocket is also a likely necessity. All in all, Samsung has created a device that answers the needs of consumers who are looking to consolidate the number of devices they tote around. The functionality will please many, but to truly get the most from this handset, customers will have to plan carefully and invest in the best accessories and peripheral devices to fit their usage and lifestyle – all of which we look forward to seeing and reviewing at the MWC!

Riddle me this Batman: what exactly is an exabyte? Technically it is “a unit of information or computer storage equal to 1quintillion bytes.” Wrapping your head around this large of a number is like trying to fathom the national debt of the United States and all of its ramifications.

So when we saw Cisco’s Visual Networking Forecast that shows global mobile data traffic projection for the next five years, the numbers were similarly difficult to swallow: 10.8 exabytes per month. To put it in perspective, this is an 18-fold increase from today’s data consumption. And with 71% of this massive amount of data will be consumed by cloud traffic and the approximate 10 billion mobile Internet-connected devices projected to be in use in 2016.

With the world population expected to be 7.3 billion, these numbers point to a trend of consumers toting around more than one device. They will be streaming video, data, and music at faster speeds on their tablets, smartphones, iPod, MacBooks and laptops televisions thanks to quickly adopted technology from LTE networks to the actual devices. More specifically, it is the jump in smartphone adoption that is the driving force in these huge data growth projections as this will account for 8 billion of the 10 billion devices expected to be in use.

This staggering number of devices and leaps in technology will likely have a domino effect where consumers will require smarter accessories to integrate their devices into daily life without becoming cumbersome. And, with this kind of huge adoption of technology and cloud services, the question of what role the telecommunication giants will have comes into play. Even now we are seeing a shift towards internet-based services and unlocked cell phones that provide consumers with other choices beyond the traditional carriers.

Wherever the trends and technology go, we will be sure to keep you apprised as they change and shape a different future.

Life is indeed good for LG... their LG Optimus cell phone series are extremely popular. In fact, they recently boasted the sale of over one million LG Optimus LTE worldwide since the device first launched last year.

The Optimus LTE made its international debut in LG's native South Korea last October, before its December invasion of Japan and North America - where it is sold under the brand name of Spectrum at Verizon (where it is available for $199 on contract) and the Nitro HD at AT&T, while Canadians recognize it as the Bell Optimus Eye.

The changing of the guard from one year to the next brings inevitable changes. This is especially true with mobile technology which is arguably one of the most competitive and innovative segments of the tech industry as traditional feature phones and carriers are challenged with smartphone technologies and apps and unlocked phones.

So even if you keep half an ear to the latest happenings in this niche of the world market, there is a plethora of information, rumors, and announcements to keep track of. To help make the focus more manageable, here are a few noteworthy notices to kick off your 2012 mobile tech watch.

First, the continuing saga of the king of feature phones as it endeavors to make its mark in a smartphone world: Nokia. The mobile OS this manufacturer chose for its foray into smartphones is Symbian. Clearly this pairing didn’t fare well in the global marketplace. As a farewell gesture that is bound to drive the final nail in the coffin of Symbian, Nokia has opted to rebrand its latest smartphone as Nokia Belle. No Symbian to be mentioned in association again it seems. Perhaps the best rebranding for Nokia would be launching a new tablet featuring its next mobile OS choice.

Not to be left out, Google Android is bound to make this list. And, it is no surprise that it is causing waves with its much-buzzed-about OS upgrade: Ice Cream Sandwich. Global rollouts of this Android 4.0 update were supposed to have begun for Nexus S customers a few days ago, but according to the Google Community Manager, Paul Wilcox, announced that they are pausing updates to better monitor feedback for a while (this sounds oddly familiar to CarrierIQ scandal which highlighted the benefits of customers choosing unlocked devices).

On a more positive note for Google, they are now globally activating approximately 700,000 Android devices daily. The company’s willingness to work with many manufacturers (creating more opportunities for customers to choose carrier neutral unlocked phones), is significantly contributing to their continued growth around the world.

To follow on the heels of Google’s customer driven philosophy, carriers are having to fight the loss of their exclusivity on smartphones, tablets and accessories by dropping their prices. Recent reports show that 4G LTE pricing may drop by as 60% by 2016 as the additional speeds aren’t worth the cost for heavy users and the carrier specific devices that enable 4G are markedly more expensive than their 3G counterparts as well.